Dream's Ashes

Plot

The film begins with a view of the city skyline and we hear dance music bellowing amongst the chimney tops. The camera closes in on one of the many terraced houses to reveal a drug dealer (Lee) playing computer games with his friends and attempting to pass a cannabis joint to his pregnant girlfriend.

Lee has just left prison for the second time and is now living in a council house courtesy of Leeds City Council. He lives there with his girlfriend Carol, who at the start of the film is pregnant with their unborn daughter Lily. When Carol miscarries her baby, she blames Lee and their lifestyle for the loss and leaves him. Lee seems unaffected and continues his lifestyle of dealing drugs, intimidating others and getting into fights. Lee is pushed the drugs by his mother, who seemingly cares little for him. She introduces him to a new drug called "wax" which begins to give him hallucinations of his dead child. He tries to ignore the hallucinations as a side effect of the drug, but they increasingly occupy his thoughts.

Carol is now going out with a local hard man called Tommy, who traps her in an abusive relationship. Carol calls out to Lee for help and so Tommy challenges Lee but to no avail. Lee shuns Carol and does not fight Tommy, despite still having feelings for her. Lee is becoming increasingly confused about what is important to him and the repeated hallucinations of his baby become more vivid.

Lee is arrested after a nightclub fight with a rival drug dealer, but is released without charge. When he goes to his mother's house he discovers that his mother has been supplying his rival and is also having a relationship with him. This pushes Lee over the edge and he turns to his hallucinations as the only reliable constant left in his life.

Through visions of his baby he realises that his love for Carol is never going to leave him and he sets about getting her back. In a violent confrontation with Tommy at the end of the film, Lee finally challenges his own perceptions of life and the realities he has built around himself.

The denouement of the film sees Lee and Carol reunited with an announcement that Carol is once again pregnant with Lee's child. Now a reformed character, Lee prepares to make a real attempt to maintain their relationship and be the best father he can be. The film ends with Lee walking into the distance to find work to provide for his family.

Cast

Music

Dream's Ashes has a full original score created by the composer Julian Kershaw and produced by Tom Woodstock.

Reception

Dream's Ashes premiered on the opening night of the 2005 Leeds International Film Festival and received recognition for its quality, despite being a low budget independent film.

"Independent filmmaking does not get much better than this" - British Independent Film Awards 2006.

"Accomplished performances in this exquisitely shot low-budget movie by excellent filmmakers" - Leeds International Film festival 2005.

"Outstanding, welcome addition to the classics of British Film" - British Film Institute 2005.

Controversy

Dream's Ashes was originally intended to be broadcast as a television film, but was banned by both the BBC and Channel 4. It was considered to contain excessive obscene language which the director refused to re-edit, stating that it would betray the integrity of the writing and performances. Rafe Clayton (writer/director), said that the language use is authentic to the setting and its removal would degrade the genuine portrayal of the lives the film represents.

Too short for cinema release, the film was illegally distributed under the names 'Chav' and 'Dealer' and reached popularity largely among teenage audiences. It has a small cult following particularly in France, Japan and the United States.